Teeth tearing off belt...

6600 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by hdrolling, Sep 12, 2014

Labradaddy

Discussion Starter · Sep 9, 2014

Here's the back story....
Belt is Harley OE part I installed less than 3 years and about 20K miles ago.
I stopped by the dealer (w/o the bike) and talked to my buddy the service manager. He said w/o seeing the bike he would think it is a pulley issue. I examined the pulleys and see nothing wrong. No knife edging or chunks missing. I don't do hard launches or extreme downshifts. Tension has always been correct.
Could "lugging" it have these results? I wouldn't think so.

Any ideas?

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Dave63

· #2 · Sep 9, 2014

Teeth are being pulled back, which is consistent with hard accel, and belt being pulled forward by front sprocket. Not saying you're doing that, but it's a directional tear.

Its also uniform. Looks defective to me. Even if the sprocket teeth were worn bad, it causes funky wear of the teeth, not tearing.

Are they all like this?

If so, and if it was due to abuse, then why are all of them like this? Generally, abuse causes spot-damage, and an eventual break.

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Labradaddy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 10, 2014

I don't baby it but I don't beat on it either. I've been thinking of going with a chain. I've had bad luck with belts on this bike. Rock broke the factory belt. Defective aftermarket belt broke in 4K miles. HD belt this time. 55K on the sprokets.

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Labradaddy

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 10, 2014

Yes Dave, they are all the same.

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webco2

· #5 · Sep 10, 2014

Gates belts do at times come up short. I'd look for a free replacement from the Dealer, if not , nothing lost by asking.

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bobf

· #6 · Sep 10, 2014

To answer your question about lugging. Yes, lugging can and will tear a belt. Not sure you have that problem, but something made you ask!

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SCHMIDTY

· #7 · Sep 10, 2014

Loose front sprocket or main drive gear bearings. Either of those and the sprocket can spin cockeyed.
Drive belt failure is usually caused from mechanical, alignment or installation problems.

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hdrolling

· #8 · Sep 12, 2014

I beat the hell out of my stock belt, over 50,000 miles and still looks great. I've had the 120R on over a year and still ride aggressive with no issues. If your going through belts I'm guessing your have something out of alignment somewhere.

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